**4. Sugarcane harvesting**

Sugarcane cultivation has been strengthened in some regions of the world, such as North America, Central America, South America, Asia and Oceania, due to the climate, temperature, humidity, relief, topography and soil type. In these countries, planting and harvesting of sugarcane were first carried out in a rudimentary way, manually, as shown in **Figure 3**.

**Figure 3.** Hand sugarcane harvesting. Credit: Luiz Carlos Dalben.

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**Figure 4.** Sugarcane mechanized harvesting. Credit: Luiz Carlos Dalben.

Even with the evolution of sugarcane harvesting technology, there is still manual harvesting practice. In countries, such as United States (Louisiana, Hawaii, Texas and Florida) and Australia (Queensland), the sugarcane has been mechanically harvested since the mechanization of the sugarcane became feasible; however, in others countries, such as Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Indonesia, among others, the mechanized harvesting was slowly developed and the manual harvesting is present in part of the cane fields until now. In these countries, the transition from manual to mechanized harvesting has been required to improve productivity and to meet labor and environmental issues [20–22].

The sugarcane harvesting can be done with the raw cane or burned cane. In general, a preburning of the straw is performed prior to manual cutting of the sugarcane. This practice is used to clean the cane, making it easier and safer for manual laborers to work. Some countries also use mechanized harvesting with the burned cane. The burning of the sugarcane is a common practice; however, it is very widely criticized due to environmental and productive factors. Therefore, mechanized harvesting of raw cane (**Figure 4**) is more commonly used nowadays, and is a focus of research worldwide. Researchers search for a new approach to the sugarcane mechanized harvesting that could make it more economically and environmentally attractive [23–26, 27].

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**Figure 3.** Hand sugarcane harvesting. Credit: Luiz Carlos Dalben.

Therefore, it is evident the importance of sugarcane for the economy and sustainability of

Sugarcane cultivation has been strengthened in some regions of the world, such as North America, Central America, South America, Asia and Oceania, due to the climate, temperature, humidity, relief, topography and soil type. In these countries, planting and harvesting of sugarcane were first carried out in a rudimentary way, manually, as shown in

Even with the evolution of sugarcane harvesting technology, there is still manual harvesting practice. In countries, such as United States (Louisiana, Hawaii, Texas and Florida) and Australia (Queensland), the sugarcane has been mechanically harvested since the mechanization of the sugarcane became feasible; however, in others countries, such as Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Indonesia, among others, the mechanized harvesting was slowly developed and the manual harvesting is present in part of the cane fields until now. In these countries, the transition from manual to mechanized harvesting has been required to improve productivity

The sugarcane harvesting can be done with the raw cane or burned cane. In general, a preburning of the straw is performed prior to manual cutting of the sugarcane. This practice is used to clean the cane, making it easier and safer for manual laborers to work. Some countries also use mechanized harvesting with the burned cane. The burning of the sugarcane is a common practice; however, it is very widely criticized due to environmental and productive factors. Therefore, mechanized harvesting of raw cane (**Figure 4**) is more commonly used nowadays, and is a focus of research worldwide. Researchers search for a new approach to the sugarcane mechanized harvesting that could make it more economically and environmen-

several countries in the world.

210 Sugarcane - Technology and Research

**Figure 2.** Top 10 producers of sugarcane [19].

**4. Sugarcane harvesting**

tally attractive [23–26, 27].

and to meet labor and environmental issues [20–22].

**Figure 3**.

**Figure 4.** Sugarcane mechanized harvesting. Credit: Luiz Carlos Dalben.

The authors [14, 28] describe the operation of the sugarcane harvester, which can be categorized into whole stalk harvesters and chopper harvesters. The sugarcane harvester machines perform the basal cutting, promote the cleaning of sugarcane and chop the stalks into 15–40 cm billets, unloading them onto a transshipment (**Figure 5**). Additionally, the sugarcane is delivered to a train or a truck and transported to the processing center.

According to Braunack et al. [33], the traffic of machinery in the sugarcane plantation is very intense and requires a good planning of the harvesting process to avoid problems of harvest delay, loss of sucrose, soil compaction, delayed delivery of harvested sugarcane and many others. In [34], the quality of sugarcane harvested manually and mechanically is compared. They conclude that in both cases that after the cut, the sugarcane must be quickly taken for processing because after 24 hours the loss of quality begins. The logistic integration of harvesting, transshipment and transportation must be in constant harmony, aiming to optimize the time between cut and milling in the mill, i.e., there must be an efficient communication network and a good harvesting planning. Therefore, researchers in various parts of the world investigate effective and economical ways to manage the process of harvesting sugarcane. Many of these researchers

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make use of mathematical and computational methodologies to optimize this process.

Investments in technology have grown considerably in developed and developing countries, mainly investments in technologies aimed at agricultural machinery, including sugarcane harvesting machine. Due to these investments, the machines have become more agile and productive, promoting a considerable increase harvesting yields, and consequently forcing managers to make faster decisions during the process of mill management. Therefore, many studies were directed towards the development of optimization mathematical models as a

Since the 1970s, many mathematical models have been developed aiming to optimize the

In 1977, Gentil and Ripoli [35] analyzed and simulated the mechanized harvesting system, transport and additionally, the reception of sugarcane in the mills. The logistics of transportation and harvesting of the sugarcane were optimized aiming to reduce the time involved in the harvesting process and the number of vehicles (harvesters and trucks). Despite the computational limitations, promising results were obtained, considering the dimensions of

In 1982, Singh and Abeygoonawardana [36] developed an optimization model for the harvesting and transport of sugarcane, aiming to optimize the number of trucks for the transporta-

In 1994, Singh and Pathak [37] presented an optimization model-based decision support system and simulation of the harvesting operation, aiming to minimize harvesting costs and aid the optimal management decision-making for the mechanized harvesting of sugarcane.

In 1995, Semenzato [38] used a heuristic to simulate the sugarcane harvesting, aiming to assist the decision maker to optimize cutting, loading, transport and discharge time. The results achieved helped in making optimized decisions aiming at the organization and use of scarce resources.

**5. Optimization process**

**5.1. Mathematical models**

the problems of this time.

way to assist managers in decision-making.

mechanical harvesting process of sugarcane

tion of harvested sugarcane in mills in Thailand.

The mechanized harvesting of the sugarcane is carried out annually and each machine cuts approximately 80 tons per hour. Depending on the number of hours worked, it can cut annually between 50,000 and 150,000 tons per harvester [20].

Thailand is the second largest exporter and the fifth largest sugarcane producer in the world. However, most sugarcane farming is family business, hence sugarcane is cultivated in a small area, which makes mechanized harvesting unfeasible and promotes low productivity [28, 29]. According to Pongpat et al. [23], despite the great importance of sugarcane to Thailand's economy, the population has been aging and it has been difficult to meet the significant market demand using only manual harvesting. It is necessary to review the concepts and apply new investments in the mechanization of harvesting in this country.

In Cuba, sugarcane is considered the second largest source of economy, has hundreds of mills and produces millions of tons of sugar per year; however for this, the integrated harvesting, transshipment and loading system work efficiently [30].

Sugarcane has a great economic importance in Australia. According to Higgins and Davies [31], in this country, the sugarcane is mostly concentrated in the northeast, and the cut begins in the winter and goes until the end of spring, when the highest percentage of sucrose is concentrated.

**Figure 5.** Transshipment to aid the transport of sugarcane from the plot to the truck or train. Credit: Luiz Carlos Dalben.

According to Braunack et al. [33], the traffic of machinery in the sugarcane plantation is very intense and requires a good planning of the harvesting process to avoid problems of harvest delay, loss of sucrose, soil compaction, delayed delivery of harvested sugarcane and many others. In [34], the quality of sugarcane harvested manually and mechanically is compared. They conclude that in both cases that after the cut, the sugarcane must be quickly taken for processing because after 24 hours the loss of quality begins. The logistic integration of harvesting, transshipment and transportation must be in constant harmony, aiming to optimize the time between cut and milling in the mill, i.e., there must be an efficient communication network and a good harvesting planning. Therefore, researchers in various parts of the world investigate effective and economical ways to manage the process of harvesting sugarcane. Many of these researchers make use of mathematical and computational methodologies to optimize this process.
